Screw thread cutting lathe



Oct. 8, E957 R. MANNAloNl scREw THREAD CUTTING LAT'HE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 26, 1955 Fig. 2

Fig. 3

I N V E N TO R MA/I//I/A/O/V/ ATTORN EYS.

Get. 8,- 1957 R. MANNAloNl 2,808,598

SCREW THREAD CUTTING LATI-IE Filed Oct. 26, 1955 5V sheetssheet 2 INVENTOR:

BY www BM W /rw ATTORNEYS Oct. 8, 1957 R. MANNAloNl 2,808,598

scREw THREAD CUTTING LATHE Filed Oct. 26, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 xr/f/ xx ma 80 Fig .10 32 3 fas 104 "a is 'y E r/ sal hwy I 9 50 l XW 93 l l'l l ',O" l l [20 19 59 66 69 ag L n, a5 a6 84 59 xv/l/ Ln. Y 64 3i W 114 "i lf3 X, i, ,L F911 5D a* l l l l 5 l 60 I g y I l L l ff Y f l 73 53 l @0 g l| *94 .e2

.f4 96 34 87 74 7; s) Q Fig.12 F ig.13

lNvENToR; Mja/[fr0 /VA/m/A/a/V/ ATTORNEYS Oct. 8, 1957 R. MANNAloNT scREw THREAD CUTTING LATHE Filed Oct. 25, 1955 5 sheets-sheet 4 Fig.14

as es III BY .awww

ATTORNEYS Oct. 8, 1957 R. MANNAxoNl 2,808,598

SCREW THREAD CUTTING LA'HE Filed Oct. 26, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 20

kFig 22 "a BY I www JM MM ATTORNEYS,

United States Patent latented Oct. 8, 1957 ice -determine the depth of successive individual cuts, the

SCREW 'BREAD CUTTING LATHE Righetto Mannaioni, Florence, Italy Appiication ctober 26, 1955, Serial No. 542,979

Claims priority, application Italy March 6, 1951 Claims. (Cl. 1li-401) The present invention relates to automatic lathes, and more particularly to tool displacement means for use with automatic lathes which are suitable for thread cutting.

The present application is a cointinuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 242,464 filed on August 18, 1951.

Generally, the invention comprises tool displacement mechanism for use with a lathe bed having a longitudinal bed way, a work spindle, a chuck for holding a workpiece mounted on the spindle, a lead screw for moving a tool carriage along the bed way; the tool displacement means including reversible gearing for driving the lead screw at slow speed in one direction during a working cut and at high speed during the rapid traverse return movement of the carriage, a cross slide with a tool holder mounted` on the carriage, a feeding device arranged to advance or withdraw the tool from the work, anda control rod or bar extending parallel tothe bed way and having a high pitch helical thread at one end, the bar being longitudinally moved by the carriage at each limit of its travel, a clutch controlling the reversible gearing and operated by the bar at each limit of carriage travel; and a tool control device operated by the rotation of the control bar in one direction at the beginning of the rapid traverse return of the carriage to withdraw the tool and operated by the rotation of the control bar in the opposite direction at the beginning of the cutting movement of the carriage to advance the tool for cutting engagement with the workpiece the amount of each advance being incrementally greater for successive cuts, together with means for stopping the lathe and resetting the tool control device after. a predetermined total depth of cut has been attained.,

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an automatic lathe which is adjustable for the accommodation of workpieces of different lengths and for different. total depths of cut.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic lathe in which the depth of each individual cut may be conveniently adjusted, together with resettable count-` ing mechanism for adjustment of the total number of cuts constituting the total depth of cut. t

Another object of the invention is to provide an automaticV lathe of this'character in which automatic tool relief, or withdrawal of the tool from the -work takes place after the completion of each individual cut, the with-V drawal taking place each time at uniformlyhigh speed and being accompanied by an accurately synchronized rapidV traverse return movement of the tool carriage to its-initial position for the beginning of anothercut. Y Y i A Still another object ofzthe invention is toprovide an automatic lathe in which a single motor or other power source takes care of all of the power requirements of the lathe including both the cutting and automatic operation mechanisms. Y Y

Still another objectV ofY therinvention is to provide-a lathe having an automatic stop which operates when a de-` sired preset total depth of cut h as been attained. j

A` further object of the inventionils toprovide a lathe .Y of this character in which a doubleieccjentric is useclt;

L y carriagel l double eccentric being advanced by a ratchet mechanism through va predetermined angular distance at each cut. One of the eccentrics is so arranged that the depth of successive individual cuts decreases progressively as the preset total depth is approached. The other of the double eccentrics controls the radius of eccentricity of the iirst eccentric so that the magnitude of the depth of the individual cuts may be adjusted at will.

A further object of the invention is to provide a control bar which is actuated bythe carriage at each limit of its travel, the control bar being provided at one end with a helical thread of high pitch. This thread causes rotation of the bar in one direction at the beginning of the cutting movement of the carriage thereby causing advance of the tool toward the work, and at the same time starts the slow speed movement of the carri-age for the cutting movement of the tool. At the end of the cutting movement, the control bar is moved longitudinally in the opposite direction, starting the feed screw rotating at high speed for the rapid traverse return movement of the car- Y riage and at the same time the helical thread rotates the bar in the opposite direction to withdraw the tool from the work during the rapid traverse return movement of the carriage.

Other and further objects will become apparent upon reading the following specification together with the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a front view in elevation of a lathe embody-l ing the invention, part of the base of the omitted.

Figure 2 is an end sectional view in elevation taken along the line II-II of Figure l, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a plan sectional view taken III-III of'Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of the clutch and gearing which control the speed and direction of rotation of the lead screw.

Figure 6 in anA enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line Vla-VI of Figure 2 looking in the direction of thev arrows and showing the lead screw control mechanism in thev position for rapid traverse return lathe being along the line movement of the carriage'. Y

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6, with the lead screw control mechanism shown in the position for slow movement of the carriage during cutting operation of the lathe.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a detail of the lead screw control mechanism shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of Figure 6, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure l0 is an elevationalview of thev apron mechanism, partly broken away.

Figure ll is a plan sectional view XI-Xl of Figure 10. I

Figure l2 is a plan sectional View XII- XII of FigureflO.Y j Y Figure 13 isa sectional ViewV in elevation of a detail of vtaken along the line aratchet return spring unitl of the apronimechanism; taken gureV ll,V lool/.ing in the along the line XML-Kill of Fi direction of the arrows.

Figure 14 showsrdiagrammatically -the directions of motion of the cutting Vtooland of the carriage at Vthe be- I ginning of the slow motion ofthe carriageforv takinga out.

Figure l5` is similar to Figure 14, showing the'directions' of motion of the cutting tool and vof the carriage at the beginning of 4the. r

taken -along the line i apid `traverse j -returmmovementg ofgthe V: v

Figure 16 is a sectional view in elevation of a split nut carriage release mechanism taken along the line XVI- XVI in Figure 10, looking inthe direction of the arrows.

. Figure. 17 is ant enlarged. sectional View. in. elevation. of.

a. portionof. the tool` control. mechanism; of. the apron takenalong the. 1ine.XVII.-XVI1 irl-Figure 12, looking in.

toolf retracted for rapid traverse return movement of the carriage.

Figure 20-is ar sectional viewin elevation; of a portion of; theftoolfeedingmechanismt-akenalong the line XX in: Figurev 1,0, the. cutting tool. being in engagementV with the workpiece.

FigureZl isa fragmentary sectional. view in elevationr takenialongtheline; of Figure. 12` showing the tool advancing; ratchetv mechanism; manually disengaged.

Figure 2.2 isa view similar to Figure 2l. showing the tool; advancing ratchet mechanism in its4 manually reset' position.

Figure 23 is a fragmentary sectional ViewV similar to Figure 2G, the tool: being withdrawn from the workpiece.-

Referring to Figs. l to 4, the lathe comprises a housing 1i of whichthe upper left hand portion 2 contains reversible gearing forturning the workpiece. A horizontally extending shaft 3i hasa pulley 4' ixed thereon which is belt driven by a motor S or anyfother suitable sourcer of power. A` toothed clutch member 6` issplinedonshaft 3 and is slidable therealong for selective engagement with either gear 7 or gear 8, the gears 7 and 8 being'freely revoluble` onshaft 3. Gear 7 meshes witha gear 9which is1Lxed`ona-shaftwhich carriesla chuck 10; thechuckl 10 being adapted to receive a workpiece. Gear Sl meshes with anidler'gearl which in turnr meshes'withV gear 9 to drive the chuck 10 in the opposite direction: The position ofV clutch member 6 may be determined by means. of a manual control lever 12 which thus controls the. direction ofrotati'onI of chuck 10; If desired; av variable speed drive may be included between the motor 5 and shaft 3.

`Shaft 3, through suitable gearing 13disposed1i`n the end housing 14;. drives a shaft'lS' (Fig. 6) in feed box16. Shaft' 15 is in axial alignment with a furtherr shaft 17` which, throughs, coupling 18,.drives.the lead' screw 19'. Lead screw 19 moves the carriage. 20.

. A double faced single tooth clutch member 21 issplined' on shaft? 17' and" is slidable therealongby a fork. 22 for selective engagement with. either gear 23A or. gear 24, eachr of'whi'ch is provided with a single tooth arranged to.A be

driven by clutchmemher 21. Gear. 23 is xed on. shaftY 1'5`and` gear 24A is freely rotatably mountedon shaft 17.

Clutch member. 21,. whenin. engagement with gear 23, d'rives shaft 17 and lead-screw 19 directly. at slowy speed for causing slow speed movement. of carriageV during each cut from right to left as viewedin Eig. 1` or. asshown by the. leftwardly directedarrow. in Fig. 14.

The gear 24, which is provided with a laterally project;

with gear 24; Thus, when. clutch member 21 is moved The single tooth clutch arrangement which causes'- clutch member 21 tobefdriven by gear- 231for thelslow leftward movement of carriage 20 during each out, as

sures that the beginning of each slow speed movement of carriage 2U will' always start at the same angular position of lead screw 19. In this manner, the cutting tool will always engage the workpiece to follow the same thread cutting path as that cut during the immediately preceding slow speed movement of carriage 20.

The carriage 20 is provided with a split nut 30 (Figs.

ll and 16) which is controlled by amanually operable lever S3V as etplainedv in greater detail below. The split nut 3) is engageahle with: and disengageable from the lead screw 19 under the control of lever 53.

The carriage 20 moves on a bed way comprising the parallelrails. 31- and' 32. (Fig, 16.). A control rod 33, longitudinally grooved to be of non-circular cross-section, passes through the apron ofy the carriage. At one end, control rod 33 has a high pitch helical thread 34 (Figs. 6, 7 and 8) formed thereon which engages a xed interiorly threaded bushingl Simounted ina wall ofthefeed box 16. Two stop-dogs 36 andv 37 (Fig. l) are. -adjustably posifn tionedv at; control rod- 33. on opposite lsides of carriage 20 and the-positions ofthestop dogs 36` and 37 determine the limits.` of travel of the carriage 20, being alternately engaged thereby..

rEhe carriagel reversal. is controlled by a cylinder. 38y (Figs. 6,17-v and. 8.) disposed in feedlbox 16 and whichis. rotatablyr connected toand moves longitudinally with. control rod 33;.anextension 39 of cylinder. 3S beingaxially alignedwitlr control. rod. 33. and' longitudinally movable through thel endl wall` of. feed boxv 16. Intermediatev itsY ends cylinder' 38; is provided with a transversely extending;hollowftube;4t1 in which a spring pressed plunger. 41. is slidablyl disposed,. the plunger 41 being provided. with azwedge-shaped free. end. A` pairY of depending lateral. 42 is. mounted onzopposite sides ofV cylinder 38 and the: lower ends or' links. 42v are. pivotally connected. to clutch.: actuating fork. 22.; The Wedge-shaped free end. ofspring-pressedf plunger: 41; engages a similarly wedgeshaped: upper surface on fork' 22, thereby yieldinglyfurging fork22toslideclutch member 21 eitherintoengagementzwitlr gear 23 or gear: 24, there. being nov neutral position..

The'- links 42. are pivotally connected intermediate their ends to a. horizontally extending yoke. 44 which is providedwith an adjustable-.threaded stop mem-ber'45 which. passes freely` through a wallr of the feed. box 16.. Stop memberAS. ist-provided with aknurled lock nut 46 which bears against yoke 44: and` its outer end is provided with a hexagonal'headf'.. Stop member 45 Vmay thusf bead-- justed.- to. determine: thelimits of travel. of the fork 22.

At: the'A end oftherapid? traverse return movement of carriage 20, movingfrom left'to-right as viewed' in Fig; l, stop dog 37 is engaged, thereby urgingI control rod- 33 to*` the right. This causes the wedge-shaped free end of spring pressed' plunger' 411v to ride overf the wedge` shapelsuppersurfacey of forl` 122 from the position shown therebyy snapping fork 22'- fromtheA position shown' inV Fig. 7 to the positionshown-in Fig. 6 for the-rapid traverse'-v return'movementf of the Y carriage'.v

The carriage-20 comprises; a front vertical apron 50v (Fig.Y lO andahorizonta'lportion 51, thelatter resting onbtherailsf 31;y and V32' of thebedlway (Fig: 16),'. Thehorizontal portion 51 carries the usual cross-slide upon whichl'acutting tool 5 2l (Figa 18' and 19'-)= is' shown clamped- The manuallyioperable controllever 53i (Figs. 1"()1a'nd-r 11')- which` engages-andfdisengages split' nut' 30, isA mounted onl apron 507; Alsoy mounted? on Vapron 50y is` the threeA` armed manual traverse handle 54 which is fixed to a shaft 54. A manual ratchet control lever 55 is also mounted on apron 50.

The split nut control lever 53 is xed to a shaft 56 which also carries a circular eccentric cam 57 and a circular plate 58. The cam 57 engages a fork 59 upon which a series of meshing gears 60-61-62 is mounted, the fork 59 being pivoted upon the same shaft as the gear 60. The circular plate 58 is provided with spiral slots or grooves 63. Each half of the split nut 30 carries a pin which engages one of the spiral grooves 63. The two halves of split nut 30 are vertically slidable in dovetail grooves (see Fig. ll) formed in the bracket 64.

The shaft S4 upon which the manual traverse handle S4 is mounted, carries a gear 66 which meshes with the gear 60 on fork 59. When split nut control lever 53 is lowered, or turned in a counterclockwise direction the two halves of the split nut 30 are brought into engagement with the feed screw 19. At the same timethe left end of fork 59 is raised by eccentric cam 57, and pivoting about the shaft of gear 60, lowers gear 62 so that it is disengaged from a stationaryV rack 67 formed on the under side of bed way rail 32. In this position of the split nut control lever 53, the movement of the carriage is under the control of lead screw 19.

When split nut control lever 53 is raised, or turned in a clockwise direction, so that the parts are in the position shown in Fig. l0, the two halves of the split nut 30 are moved apart so that the carriage is disengaged from lead screw 19. At the same time, the left hand end of fork 59 is lowered by eccentric cam 57 and the right hand end of fork 59 is raised, bringing gear 62 into mesh with the rack 67. Rotation of the three-armed manual traverse handle 54 will then cause movement of the carriage through the gearing 66-60-61-62. Y

A plate 68 is mounted on apron 50 and is held in position by bolts 69 which pass through oversize holes in plate 68 permitting movement of plate 68 about pivot pin 70 when the bolts 69 are loosened. Pivot pin 70 is fixed to apron 50 and extends outwardly therefrom.

Pivot pin '70 carries a gear 71 and a ratchet wheel 72 which are fixed to each other, together with a freely revoluble collar 73 which has a radially projecting arm 74. Pivot pin V'70 also carries the perforated wheel 75, A xed stop pin 76 is disposed in one of the holes of wheel 7S and a movable stop pin 77 may be selectively disposed in any desired one of the holes in accordance with the total number of cuts to be taken for a particular lathe operation. The perforated wheel '7S is xed to the gear 71 and ratchet wheel '72 for movement therewith.

"-A pivot pin 79 secured to plate 68 (Fig. 21) supports a ratchet advancing pawl 80 passing through a vertically elongated hole 81 therein. On the back of ratchet advancing pawl 80 -a laterally extending projection 82 is formed which engages the back of a ratchet retaining pawl 83 which is separately pivotally mounted Von pivot pin 79 adjacent to the ratchet advancing pawl 80. Pawl 83, at its lower end portion 84 carries an electrical contact finger 85 Whose purpose is to control a stopping circuit for the motor 5 after completion of the final cut, as

hereinafter described. An upwardly spring pressed lever 86 is pivoted to plate 50 and at its free end is provided with an inverted V-shaped surface which bears against a surface of complementary shape at the lower end 84 of the ratchet retaining pawl 83. Lever 86 thus either urges ratchet retaining pawl 83 into engagement with one of the teeth of ratchet wheel 72 or else holds pawl 83 in its disengaged position as shown in Fig. 22. A link S7 connects retaining pawl 83 with the radially projecting arm 74 carried by collar 73, so that -upon counterclockwise rotation of collar 73 and arm 74, the retaining pawl 83 and the ratchet advancing Vpawl 80 will be both disengaged from ratchet wheel 72 and will permit it to return to its initial position.

Centrally mounted on plate 68 is `an outwardly ex-4 tending fixed shaft 89. Freely revolubly mounted on shaft 89 is a cylindrical sleeve 90 (Figs. 18 and 19) which has a gear 91 xed thereon. Sleeve 90 is held in position on shaft 89 by a shouldered disc 92. Assembled on sleeve for rotation therewith are two mutually engaging eccentric sleeves 93 and 94, one disposed within the other, which may be turned with respect to sleeve 90 and with respect to each other. `A ball bearing 95 is mounted on the outer eccentric sleeve 94. The double eccentric formed by the sleeves 93 and 94 is provid-ed at the front thereof with calibrated scales and with adjustment knobs 96 for adjustment of the eccentricity ofv gagement with the outer race ofl bearing 95. A trian,

gular lever 100 is pivoted to the carri-age 20 at 101 and is provided with two rounded corners one of which bears downwardly on bridge 99, the other corner bearing laterally against a downwardly extending projection of thev cross slide which carries the tool S2. The cross slide carrying tool 52 is movable transversely of the bed Wayv by triangular lever 100 and is preferably spring pressed against triangular lever 100 or otherwise resiliently held in engagement therewith.

The shank of fork'98 (Fig. 12) is-bifurcated and ernbraces a block 103 from which a sloping generally elliptical projection 104 extends laterally. Fork 98 is pivotally mounted on Va sliding shaft 105 which is held in a U- shaped support 106 as shown in lig. 17. Shaft 105 has rack teeth formed at one end which mesh with a gear 107. Gear 107 is longitudinally slidably mounted on control rod 33 for rotation therewith, being provided with an internal radially inwardly projecting lug (Fig. 20) which engages a longitudinal slot formed on the under side of control rod 33. A ratchet actuating lever 108 is freely pivotally mounted on control rod 33 adjacent to gear 107. Both gear 107 and lever 108, together with suitable spacers, are laterally held between rearwardly extending projections 109 fixed to plate 68 Aof carriage apron 50. The ratchet actuating lever 108 is provided with a laterally extending pin 110 of sloping generally elliptical cross-section similar to projection 104 of block 103 and positioned for engagement therewith.

Ratchet actuating lever 108 is also provided with aA rounded downwardly projecting portion 111 which rests on ratchet advancing pawl 80 (Figs. 20 and 23). Y

The gears 71 and 91 both'mesh with .an intermediately disposed gear 112 which is xed on a revoluble shaft carrying a further gear 113. Gear 113 meshes with a ratchet restoring spring unit comprising an inner cylinder 114 having rack teeth formed thereon for said meshing engagement. Inner cylinder 114 is slidably disposed in an outer cylinder 115 and may be moved upvwardly against the yielding pressure of `a helical cornpression spring 116 contained within the inner cylinder 114.

The manual ratchet control lever 55 is arranged to havev three positions to which it may be operated and in which it will remain. Lever 5S is provided with' two actuating pins 118 and 119 (Figs. 2l and 22). .When lever 55 is in its horizontal position, the ratchet mechanism operates in the normal manner. When lever 5S is moved upwardly, pin 118 presses down on ratchet advancing tool 80 preventing it from being actuated by lever 108 (Fig. 21),. When lever 55 is moved downwardly, pin 119 engages radial a'rm 74 of collar 73 and rotates arm 74 in a counterclockwise direction thereby disengagingv retaining pawl 83 from ratchet wheel 72 through thel 7 actionl of link 87 (Fig. 22)" thereby resetting the ratchet mechanism.

YIn operation, the double eccentric 931-94 is rst adjustedE to provide the desired? amount of eccentricity which determines the incremental depth of each successive individuali cut; The position of the eccentric at the beginning ofthe hrs-t cut is also adjusted so'that the initial individual cuts are deeper than the-final? ornishing cuts. The movable stop pin -77f on perforated wheel 75- is positioned in the proper hole to provide the desired total number of cuts, this being determined by the number of ratchet actuations required to bring pin 77A from its initial position into'engagement with the radial arm 74l of collar 73. Thestop dogs 36 and 37 are positioned on control rod 33 to providefthe desired limits of travel for the carriage 2li. The cutting tool is similarly adjusted to provide thedesiredinitial position with respect to the` workpiece.

Having thus adjustedthe lathe,- the workpieceis placed inf the chuck 1'0 andi the motor 5 is started. The carriage 20.i will move-as, previously described; p

At each reversal of the direction of carriage motion,

the control rod 33 is rotated, first inrone direction' and then in the opposite direction by the action of the helical thread 341at'one end sliding back and forth in the fixed threaded bushing 35. causes corresponding rotation of gear `167 and longitudinal movement of the sliding shaft 105 whose rack teeth are inmesh with gear 107.

At the end of a cut, carriage Ztl engages stop dog 36 and control rodi 33 rotatesrin a counterclockwise directionv as viewed in Figs. 18Y and V1'9. Fork 9S, which is mounted: on sliding shaft 105,' movesto the rights as viewed in Figs. 18l and 19. Reciprocable block 97 Yridesdownwardly on its sloping lower cam surface and thel bridgemember 99 begins to move with block 97' being moved by fork 98. When the rectangular notch in bridge member` 99,'reacheslthe edge of Athe outer race of bearing- 945, the' bridge member. 99 snaps downwardly andY allows triangular: lever 11i()V to rotate in a clockwise direction, whereupon the cutting tool 52 held on the cross slide is abruptly withdrawn from engagement withrthe workpiece, moving from the position shown in Fig. 18 to the position shown in Fig. 19. At the same time, the carriage 20 begins its rapid traverse return movement, which coudirection through an angle determined'by the hei'ght'of"Y the. outer race of ball bearing 95 and thisheight increases progressivelyv by reason of the action of the double ec centric 93-94 as hereinafter explained. The tool 52 on thef cross slide is thus advanced a greater distance at each successivev cut, the increments in distance, being determined by the angular position of the double eccentric The-progressive rotation ofV thedouble eccentric 93H 94Yis obtained byactuation of the ratchet mechanism. 'At' the endof a cut, when control rod 33 rotates in a counter` clockwise'direction, the block- 103 with its lateral elliptical projection: 104 will moveto the Vright as viewed in'Fig. 2t). The projectionlllfi, by reason of its sloping elliptical crosssection will ride under the similarly shaped pin 110 carried' by ratchet actuating lever 108, lifting thev lever 168i 'At the-'end'of therapid traverse movement of the carriage 2), the block 1d?) with its projection 11MV will. move' to' the' leftin response to theV clockwiseV rotation'. of

control rod- 33: The' projection 10kt-now rides over pin This Yrotation of control rod 33 8 1510 momentarily forcing; ratchet actuating lever 15081 downwardly so that its lower portion: 11:1 forces ratchet advancing pawl 80 down against ratchet wheel 72v thereby advancingv the ratchet wheel 72 by one tooth. The ,retaining pawli 83holdsV the ratchet wheel- 72' in this` ad- Y vanced position.Y

Withpeach advance' of the ratchet wheelr 72, the perforated wheel 75l-is advanced? through the same angle, bringingv the movablel stop pin 77 nearer to the radial arm 74 off collar '73; Each advance also rotates the double4 eccentric 93-94 through a predetermined anglethrough the gearing 71L1291 to raise the height of the outer race of ball'beari'ng` 95, and` thusincrementallyY increase the amount by which the tool 52 is advanced during'the' cutting movement ofthe carriage. Rotation ofl gear 1712 also causes rotation of gear 113 mounted on the sameshaft, gear113'rneshing withpthe ratchet restoring spring unit- 11'4-115-1162 The' spring 116 is thus com-- pressedl andwill actto-restorethe ratchet mechanism and the double eccentric 93-94 whenI retaining pawl- 83 is" released.v

After the4 ratchet Wheel 72 has advanced to al point where movable pin 77 engages the radial arm 74 of collar 73, the pawl 832 will be releasedv through -the4 action of link 87 as the Yarm 74 is' moved in a counterclockwise direction as viewedI in Figs. 2-1 and 22. The projection 32 from ratchet advancing pawl 80V is enga-ged' by theback of retainingvpawl 83 thereby also'withdrawing' theratchet advancing pawl 80 from engagement with ratchet Wheel 72 andv permitting ratchetV wheel Y72 to-return freely to its' initial position under the influence of compression spring' 116i At the time when pawlA 8-3is released, the contact member 85 which is` secured thereto engages a pairof electrical contactsv 121)"(Figz 21)y which are connected in' a suitable circuit (not shown) toY stop the motor S. The machine may also be similarly stopped at any time by operation of ratchet' control lever` 55' to itsv downwardV position as shown in Fig. 22.

Provisions for the cutting of' non-cylindrical threads is included in Vthe lathe of the present invention.v A longitudinal rail 121' (Figs. 18' and: 19') extends beneath the roller 122 which is secured to mjovable pivoted plate 68 of .apron 50'; By loosening the bolts 69; the plate 68' is free to rotate to a limited extent about pivot pin '79. The configuration of the upper surface of rail 121 is arranged to give the desireddeparture from a cylindrical thread. A straight rail witha slight incline will. producera conically tapering thread; The variation introduced by the rail 121' willV be followed with the' successive increments in tool advance introduced by the` double eccentric 93`-94, sincefbridge. member 99 moves vertically in accordance, with the angular displacements ofv plateGS.

I have shown and. described a` single embodiment of my invention. It is..to be understood, however, that many changes and modifications thereof will be apparent to. those skilled' in the artV but which wiil' not depart from the scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims. Y

What Iclairn is: Y

l. A lathe construction comprising'a tool carriage,l

means for' mounting said carriage for movement, a' rotatable leadscrew threadedly engaging said carriage for causing said movement; tool holding means carried. by

said tool carriage transversely movably with respect therel vto for selectively' feeding a cutting tool into cutting engagement' witlrav Vworkpiece and forV withdrawing said' tool, driveimeans, two oppositelyrotatingmembers driven by said 'drive means and clutch means'directly coupledl to'said leadl screw for' causing said rotation thereof; said clutch means being; selectively' engageable with either one ofjsaid oppositely rotatingme'rnbers for controlling' the direction' of rotation of said leadl screw and' the :resulting direction of movement of` said toolY carriage, acontrol rod member rotatably and axially slidably extending parallel to and spaced from said lead screw, helical means of high pitch connected with a portion of said rod member for causing rotational movement of said rod member in response t axial movement thereof, stop dog means carried by said rod member and disposed at opposite sides of said carriage for alternate engagement thereby to cause axial movement of said rod member alternately in opposite directions, means connecting said rod member to said clutch means for reversing the direction of rotation of said lead screw in response to axial movement of said rod member, tool control means movable with said carriage and connected with said tool holding means, including means mounting said tool control means for slidable movement on said rod member and for actuation in response to rotation thereof, a lirst means ineluded in said tool control means and responsive to rotation of said rod member in one direction for causing movement of said tool holding means to bring said tool into cutting engagement with said workpiece, and a second means including snap action means included in said tool control means and responsive to rotation of said rod member in the other direction for causing movement of said tool holding means to withdraw said cutting tool abruptly from engagement with said workpiece.

2. A `lathe construction according to claim 1, in which said tool control means comprises rack and pinion means for causing movement of said tool into and withdrawai of said tool from said cutting engagement with said workpiece in response to respective opposite rotational movements of said rod member, the pinion portion of said rack and pinion means being mounted for slidable movement on said rod member and being keyed thereto for rotation therewith; wherein said first means of said tool control means comprises a iirst slide member actuated by the rack portion of said rack and pinion means and having a sloping cam surface for progressively feeding said cutting tool into said cutting engagement; and in which said second means of said tool control means corn- 10 prises a second slide member actuated by and cooperating with said iirst slide member, said second slide member having two separate surfaces one of which by-passes said sloping cam surface during movement of said first slide member in the tool withdrawal direction and the other of which provides for said snap action.

3. A lathe construction according to claim 1, further comprising ratchet means mounted on said tool carriage and actuated in response to successive movements of said rod member, adjustable eccentric means mounted on said tool carriage and connected for step by step rotation by said ratchet means, and means connecting said eccentric means to said tool control means for progressively changing the position of said cutting tool when in cutting engagement with said workpiece to provide for successive cuts.

4. A lathe construction according to claim 3, further comprising stop means actuated by said ratchet means and connected to said drive means for stopping cutting operation of said cutting tool after a predetermined number of cuts.

5. A lathe construction according to claim l, further comprising a fixed guide member having an elongated guide surface which is angularly inclined with respect to the direction of movement of said tool carriage, said tool control means further comprising means engaging said guide surface and connected to said tool holding means for displacement of said tool to cut a non-cylindrical helical thread.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 796,171 Ambrose Aug. 1, 1905 2,576,570 Castelli Nov. 27, 1951 2,709,924 Castelli June 7, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 717,361 Germany Feb. 12, 1942 671,252 Great Britain Apr. 30, 1952 

